Laura Hampton of British skydiving team Chimera shares her top tips for aspiring and experienced skydivers on all things 4 way FS. Sponsored by Skydive Langar, British Skydiving, Alti-2 Europe, Square One and Vigil AAD.

1. From FS1 to The Podium
Laura Hampton, Chimera

2. Hi!

3. Formation skydiving
fɔːˈmeɪʃ(ə)n/ ˈskʌɪdʌɪvɪŋ/
Noun: formation skydiving
The act of creating beautiful sky patterns like a total badass
“She’s a formation skydiving medallist and therefore I should buy her as many
jagerbombs as she’d like”

4. Big-way Massive-way 4-way

5. Big-way Massive-way
Look out for Emily,
J-Lo and Matt
Cumming’s webinar
on Bigway
Beginners!

6. 4-way

7. What to expect...
1. The FS1 programme
2. Jumping in groups - getting started
3. The basics of 4 way
4. Understanding competitive FS
5. Top tips for successful team
6. Open Q&A

8. The FS1 Programme

9. The FS1 Programme
● For those qualified either through RAPS or AFF, this is usually
the first sticker you’ll seek to achieve
● FS1 proves, above all else, your ability to fly safely with others
and is therefore an imperative skill for your entire skydiving
career

10. The FS1 Programme
● You jump with a coach
● While there is a handbook, coaches can be
flexible
● Aim is to learn all skills appropriate to a) save
yourself from bad situations and b) make
beautiful shapes

11. The FS1 Programme
1. Find a coach; Skydive Langar has plenty, plus
hosts Progression Weekends, promoted via their
Facebook page - other DZs also have coaches for
you
2. Approach a coach early in the day; this gives
them time to brief you
3. Try to stick with the same coach or ensure your
coach makes notes in your log book

12. FS1 Levels
● Typically you’ll learn about plan B situations
including:
○ Fast/slow fall
○ Forward/backwards
○ Side sliding
● And plan A situations including:
○ 90, 180 and 360 degree turns
○ Grip taking
○ Swoop to pin
● Usually concludes with 3 way and 4 way jump

13. Jumping in Groups

14. FS1 = Sky God Total Noob
● Take the time to consolidate; jump in small groups to
get used to what it’s like - it’ll be different with a friend
at similar experience to a coach with years of
experience
● Seek to be the ‘worst one on the jump’; don’t be a
crap skydiver, but be willing to be the least
experienced - this is where you learn the most
● Treat it like driving; you’ve passed your test, but
you’re not Lewis Hamilton yet

15. Safety First
● Be conscious of your group choices
○ Jump with people who you feel safe to jump with
○ Keep groups small to start with
● Become a tracking ninja
○ Not TR1 necessarily, just be really good at tracking away from
groups
○ This can be practiced on your own, too
● Be canopy aware
○ Know your equipment
○ You’re going to be sharing the sky

16. Find opportunities to learn
● Bigway Beginners and similar events teach you the
basics
● Walk up load organising is open to anyone with FS1
who wants to come and learn
● Read up on it! Articles in The Mag etc can be really
helpful
● Speak to people; we’re so fortunate to have access to
amazing skydivers - ask them about their experience

17. The Basics of 4 Way

18. The Aim
● Build the correct formations (shapes)
● In the correct order
● As many times as possible in 35 seconds

19. Slots
● In 4 way, there are 5 ‘positions’
● Like most sports, the different positions all fulfil
slightly different roles, working together to a common
goal
● Usually, your position (slot) dictates your position in
the door on exit, as well as the types of moves you’re
likely to do and who you’re most likely to do them with

20. Centres
● Two people occupy what we call the ‘centre’ of the
formation; this means they are most likely to be in the
middle of formations
● The centres also typically set the fall rate; imagine the
whole team is just one person, where the middle
people are the ‘arch’ point

21. Inside Centre
● Inside Centre (IC) is responsible (usually) for pacing the
skydive
● This means they decide when everyone should move on
to the next formation
● They also (often) do ‘the key’ in the aircraft door, which
means they decide when the team leaves the plane
● Their moves are often smaller, but have to be very precise
to allow others to build off them

22. Outside Centre
● Outside Centre (OC) is usually responsible for the bigger
moves in that they are often moving from ‘in-facing’ to
‘out-facing’
● They rely on the inside centre to be a stable point to
build off, and also work with the IC to set the fall rate
● They are usually on the outside of the aircraft for the exit,
closest to the front of the door

23. Outsides
● Two people occupy what we (basically never) call the
‘outside’ of the formation; this means they are most
likely to be on the outer parts of a formation
● The outsides typically fall at the same of a marginally
slower rate than the centres to allow them to see over
the top of the formation and ‘reference’ each other
● They also set the ‘axis’ of most formations, which
helps keep the team from moving inefficiently around
the sky

24. Point
● The Point flyer is most likely to be out-facing in a
formation
● They are also most likely to be performing moves as
‘the solo’ in a block
● Often, the Point flyer is physically the smallest in a
team, likely because of their position in the aircraft
door, but this does not have to be the case

25. Tail
● The Tail flyer is most likely to be at the back of the
formation and is usually in-facing
● They typically have some big moves which require
them to plan their route carefully and for the rest of
the team to go where expected
● Often, the Tail flyer is physically the tallest of the
team, likely because of the position they occupy in the
door, but this does not need to be the case

26. Front Piece
● The Front Piece of the formation refers to the Point
and Outside Centre
● Being a ‘piece’ means that, in ‘block’ moves that split
the team into 2, the P and OC will be in one pair
● The Front Piece is most likely to ‘slot switch’, meaning,
because of some formations, they will swap positions
with each other - meaning the person who is normally
P will be OC in their ‘B slot’ and vice versa

27. Back Piece
● The Back Piece of the formation refers to the Tail and
Inside Centre
● Being a ‘piece’ means that, in ‘block’ moves that split
the team into 2, the T and IC will be in one pair
● The Back Piece is less likely to slot switch, but it does
still happen - so T will become IC and vice versa

28. Camera Flyer
● You need a camera flyer to be able to compete in 4 way; it is
their job to capture the 4 people on video and to submit that
video to the judges
● The best camera flyers will have a knowledge of 4 way
formations and be able to understand how each one works, so
they can ensure they are in a position to capture each shape
● They will also understand the needs of the judges and be
sensitive to those, such as keeping the team central to the
frame and close enough to see

29. The Formations

30. Randoms
● Static shapes
● In theory, there are 16 basic shapes
● In reality, each shape can be mirrored and slots can
be switched

31. Randoms
● Most randoms can be split into the following
categories:
○ One person centre
○ Two person centre
○ Round
● This knowledge can be really helpful when it comes to
planning your dive ‘engineering’

32. Blocks
● Include a beginning, an ‘inter’ and an end
● Requires the team to perform a move through the
block:
○ Two pairs
○ One solo
○ Two solos
○ Four solos

33. Blocks
● Some blocks lead to ‘slot switches’
● There are 22 blocks, in theory
● In reality, blocks can be mirrored and slots changed
● The key to success in blocks is to break them down
into ‘pictures’; this helps you know what to expect as
you progress through the move and to ensure you’re
going to end up in the right place

34. Engineering
● The idea of ‘engineering’ a dive is that you want to
find the best way to move between the different
formations
● This means finding the most efficient move for
everyone
● It also requires you to consider things like momentum,
familiarity and competitive advantage

35. Flying Together
● The key to success in 4 way FS is recognising there
are no heroes; you all need to fly together
● Recognising the different slots and their role is
important; allocate team members according to their
skill sets
● Make sure everyone is working to the same goal;
there’s no value in being the fastest individual
because you can’t do 4 way on your own

36. Competing in 4 Way FS

37. How It Works
● There are usually 10 rounds (6 rounds in smaller
competitions)
● The ‘draw’ is done prior to the competition starting;
this is where the formations and the order for them to
be completed in is decided
● The aim is to complete the set dives for each round in
the right order and as many times as possible within
35 seconds ‘working time’

38. Categories
● There are four categories in 4 way FS competitions:
○ Rookie
○ A
○ AA
○ AAA
● The categories dictate how many formations are in a
‘page’ of a dive
● Blocks count as 2 formations (beginning formation
and end formation)

39. Judging
● FS judges are incredibly skilled people who know the
formations (all variants of them) and are able to judge whether
or not you’ve built the correct formation and to therefore
count how many ‘points’ you score
● Judges are also responsible for noting the ‘busts’; this is where
you fail to complete the correct formation or do an incorrect
move
● It is the team’s responsibility to show the judges the formations
- it’s not the judge’s responsibility to see them

40. Your Coach
● A coach is an essential part of your progression plan
● You can pay for coaches, or take advantage of British
Skydiving roadshows to gain free coaching
● Also look out for experienced FS flyers around the drop
zone (like us!) who will be more than happy to help you
● Keep notes and always consider what you’re learning

41. Setting a Training Plan
● Set your budget first; how much does each person
want to spend? Need to agree this in advance
● Share a calendar of availability; spreadsheets or
Google calendar etc
● Find a coach and compare their availability to
yours
● Contact drop zones to confirm their availability,
too

42. What to expect on a training camp
● Depends on what you want to get out of it, and your
experience level
● At higher levels, you’ll typically want to do back-to-
back skydives and anything between 12 and 16 jumps
in a day (again depending on your team, energy,
conditions etc)
● Whatever level you’re at, be sympathetic to one
another’s energy levels and consider how much you’re
learning jumping vs taking time to rest

43. Organised Chaos...
● Depending on how seriously you’re taking it, you’ll
need to be super organised to make your dates
and plans work
● You’ll also need to be able to adapt; sometimes,
things can get in the way of plan A and you’ll need
plan B, plan C, plan D…
● Know that you can only do what you can do; if
other teams can do more, fine, but think about
how to optimise your time, not about them

44. Competitions
● Remember to include the competitions you plan
to enter in your calendar!
○ Nationals
○ UKSL meets
○ Indoor competitions
● Competition experience is really valuable, if you
can get it

45. The Stuff No One Tells You...

46. It’s not just about skydiving
● The biggest thing we’ve learned over the years is
that being in a successful skydiving team doesn’t
just mean being an awesome flyer
● You need to be a good team player, to empathise
with your teammates and to be comfortable with
working toward a common goal
● You need to be good friends to each other, too

47. Get to Know Each Other
● Find out everyone learns; accept and make
allowances for each others’ learning styles
● Learn what stress looks like for each person and
how they respond, and how they’d like you to
respond
● Be good friends; know what they enjoy, what
makes them feel happy - they’re not your 4 way
tool, they’re a real life human being!

48. Get Aroused...
● Sports psychology tells us that arousal is a key
part of performance
● Practically speaking, that means you need to
know not only what gets your adrenaline
pumping, but what that looks like for you and
where your best performance comes from
● Try to get to know this as a team and consider
techniques to mediate your arousal levels

49. It’s not just falling...
● Skydiving is a sport and it requires good fitness levels
● On a busy training camp, you might be running back
from a lift (safely!), grabbing your next kit, running to
the plane (safely!) and doing that again and again and
again…
● The fitter you are, the more able you are to fly efficiently
and effectively; consider flexibility and strength as well
as cardio

50. Visualising can be powerful
● In the UK especially, we’re sometimes hit by
circumstances that mean we can’t train, such as
weather holds
● There’s a lot you can learn from ‘visualising’, which
means imagining the dive in your mind, picturing your
move and considering how that would look from your
POV and/or from the camera POV
● Also look out for opportunities to learn on creepers,
and to watch videos of other teams

51. What we’ve talked about...
1. The FS1 programme
2. Jumping in groups - getting started
3. The basics of 4 way
4. Understanding competitive FS
5. Top tips for successful team

52. Open Q&A